Sandbags

Residents of Yakima County are responsible for protecting their property during floods. Residents are encouraged to acquire sand and sandbags prior to a flood event. There are a number of business within the county that provide sandbags or sandbag materials, YVEM maintains a list of these business and can be viewed below under the Commercial Sandbag Locations section.

The Yakima County sandbag stockpile's main purpose is to protect critical infrastructure such as levees, floodgates, bridges and roads during flood emergencies to combat floods.

These sandbags can be made available to the public when all commercial supplies of sandbags are exhausted and/or a Proclamation of Emergency has been declared by the Yakima County Board of County Commissioners.

The use of sandbags is a simple, but effective way to prevent or reduce flood water damage. Properly filled and placed sandbags can act as a barrier to divert moving water around, instead of through, buildings. Sandbag construction does not guarantee a water-tight seal, but is satisfactory for use in most situations.

The most commonly used bags are untreated burlap sacks available at feed or hardware stores. Empty bags can be stockpiled for emergency use, and will be serviceable for several years, if properly stored. Filled bags of earth material will deteriorate quickly.

Commercial plastic sandbags, made from polypropylene, are also available from most bag suppliers. These will store for a long time with minimum care, but are not biodegradable. Thus, they have to be disposed of, or will remain around for a long time. Do not use garbage bags, as they are too slick to stack. Do not use feed sacks, as they are too large to handle. Use bags about 14-18" wide, and 30-36" deep. A heavy bodied or sandy soil is most desirable for filling sandbags, but any usable material at or near the site has definite advantages. Coarse sand could leak out through the weave in the bag. To prevent this, double bag the material. Gravelly or rocky soils are generally poor choices because of their permeability.

Sandbag barriers can easily be constructed by two people, as most individuals have the physical capability to carry or drag a sandbag weighing approximately 30 pounds. One person should fill the bags and the other should hold the bag open while being filled then once the bags are filled they can be put into place.

When placing sandbags there are a couple common methods but both start with removing any debris from the area where the bags are to be placed. Fold the open end of the unfilled portion of the bag to form a triangle. If tied bags are used, flatten or flare the tied end. Place the partially filled bags lengthwise and parallel to the direction of flow, with the open end facing against the water flow. Tuck the flaps under, keeping the unfilled portion under the weight of the sack. Place succeeding bags on top, offsetting by one-half (1/2) filled length of the previous bag, and stamp into place to eliminate voids, and form a tight seal.

For a detailed overview of how to sandbag download this document put together by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers: Sandbagging Techniques